One Day At A Time: The 10 Saddest Things About Penelope

It’s tough to say there’s really anything sad about Penelope on One Day At a Time. A hardworking single mother with two great teenage children, she pretty much has it all together. She has a positive and upbeat attitude, for the most part, knows what she wants, and she won’t accept anything less. There’s so much to like about Penelope, but as with anyone, there actually are some sad things about her and her life that are tough to ignore. Sure, she has a great family, a good job, and by the end, had met a really great guy. But she has been through a lot to get to where she is.

Despite Pop TV having canceled the series (after picking it up for a new season following Netflix’s initial cancellation), One Day At a Time was, arguably, one of the best family sitcoms on television, and a large part of this was because of Penelope and the many layers to her character.

10 Her PTSD

Central to the series is the fact that Penelope is a single mother raising her two teenage children in a small apartment with the help of her eccentric mother. Penelope’s marriage fell apart following her ex-husband’s alcohol addiction.

Both of them served in the military together, and Penelope returned, much like others who have served, suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She has a great family support system and sees a support group every week, both of which help her through. But one episode, in particular, showed just how much of a struggle it is for her.

9 Having To Be A Single Mother

While Penelope is great at being a single mother and has the help of her mother and even her friend and landlord, Schneider, it’s never easy to raise kids on your own. But Penelope had to make the tough decision to do just that after finally leaving her ex-husband when his drinking got out of control.

It’s sad because they were deeply in love, but he dealt with his PTSD much differently than Penelope. And because he couldn’t beat those demons, Penelope decided to raise the kids on her own.

8 Not Being Able To Further Her Career

Penelope had to study all hours of the night, trying to find any privacy she could in the small apartment with people always coming and going and talking loudly, but she finally did it and became a nurse practitioner.

Penelope has the skills and drive to further her career even more if she wanted, but she simply doesn’t have the time, and it’s sad that she is not able to invest more time and money into a career in order to be able to better provide for her family simply because her life situation won’t allow her to.

7 Her Ex-Husband

As noted, Penelope went through a pretty dark time with her ex, Victor, who began to drink so heavily that it ended their relationship and made her fearful for her children. He seems to have cleaned himself up since, but the spark between them is gone. It was one of the lowest-rated episodes of the show when Victor returned to upend Penelope’s life and try to rekindle something with her.

Still, this left Penelope with emotional scars, especially since his alcohol and sometimes drug addiction also meant that he had anger management issues and could be pretty aggressive at times, amplified by his drinking.

6 Her Commitment Issues

Arguably stemming from her failed marriage to Victor, Penelope has clear commitment issues. She breaks up with Max, the seemingly perfect man for her, when he says he wants to have children and she realizes she is done with that part of her life.

While the two reunited, even then, she tells him that she never ever wants to get married again, and actually likes the nature of their relationship, whereby he leaves for months at a time to work overseas and then they get together whenever he’s back home.

5 Her Mother Meddling In Her Life

While Penelope’s mother Lydia is totally hilarious (wonderfully played by the iconic Rita Moreno), she does meddle a lot in Penelope’s life, and it’s difficult for Penelope to keep anything from her mother seeing as how they live together. Not only that, but Lydia’s “room” is a hop, skip, and jump from Penelope’s.

Lydia knows everything going on with Penelope at all times, from her work and romantic relationships to her kids. It’s sad that Penelope has no autonomy away from her mother.

4 Not Having Enough Time For Herself

Not only does Penelope have zero time to further her career, she also has little time for herself, period. So much so that she’s happy to pursue a relationship with a man who works overseas for months at a time simply because that jives with her own schedule and emotional availability.

Going out for a date night, or even just staying home with some Cheetos and a good movie, are rarities for Penelope without having someone interrupt her “me” time.

3 Financial Struggles

While the financial struggles aren’t discussed a lot, it’s clear that Penelope has a tough time making ends meet, which has made her very frugal and reluctant to spend money on frivolous things.

The family makes it work, but occasionally, when Penelope says yes to Alex getting an expensive pair of shoes or to Elena going away on a retreat, she has to pinch pennies to make it happen.

2 Not Being Able To Get Everything She Deserves

Penelope deserves so much, considering she not only served her country but also continues to serve by helping people as a nurse practitioner.

She has raised two wonderful and self-sufficient young children and even cares for her elderly mother, even though Lydia is actually very helpful, as well. She is a good friend to Schneider and a great girlfriend to Max. Penelope deserves so much more but she never gets it.

1 The Loss Of Her Father

It’s clear that the loss of her father was just as hard on Penelope as it was on her mother Lydia, who still constantly talks to Berto even though he is long gone, staring at his photo, telling him about her day, and recalling fond memories about their deep and passionate love.

Penelope isn’t one to show her emotions, but at times, when she recalls her father, it’s obvious that she carries deep pain from losing him at a young age.

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